Moldova

Moldova’s proximity to Ukraine has meant it has faced a range of challenges since Russia’s invasion of its neighbour. The state of 2.7 million opened its borders to Ukrainians forced to flee and it hosts the highest number of Ukrainian refugees per capita compared to other EU and EU-neighbouring countries.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, over 700,000 people and counting have fled through Moldova in the hopes of securing peace and safety. What’s more, public hospitals in Moldova offer a poor standard of care, well below Western standards in quality and treatment.

Frontline surgical courses

Marking our first partnership with World Health Organisation (WHO), we delivered a HEST course to 30 doctors in Moldova in January 2023 to support them with the significant number of refugees they were treating. Since then, we have delivered two HEST-Anaesthesia courses, training 85 anaesthetists in a bid to upskill even more of the local medical workforce.

WHO representative, Dr Vitalii Stetsyk, reflected: “The Foundation’s course significantly strengthens doctors’ surgical competency. Building networks and sharing knowledge is vital – they save lives.”

“It is our sincere hope that our Moldovan colleagues will not need to use the war surgery and anaesthesia skills we have shared with them, but if so, well-trained doctors will be equipped to build healthcare resilience and save more lives. Preparation is power.”
Elly Nott, co-founder

Moldova stories